Functional Reformer

Hi, everybody. Amy Haven's here at Pilates anytime. So excited to bring this content to you. As you know, I live in Santa Barbara, which is just up there, not too far from here. And many of my clients are in this aging category, and they're independent, they're strong, they travel a lot, and I am there to help them continue to do those things. They wanna live independently, and I'm gonna help them stay in tip top shape.

I really want them to get on the wonder chair sometimes, but not everybody wants to, but I want them to get that climbing work. They do when they travel, they climb a lot. They're stairs in the world. So I've put this content together with that in mind. Also gripping also back strength, hip extension. So I think you kinda know where we're headed today.

We're gonna do our footwork with the box on top of the reformer. So what I've done here and I'm doing this for postural reasons, the sitting posture work. So I'm about five four. I have my box about halfway between, you can see. Two red springs is enough. Let's see what happens. You may only wanna do one spring.

But we'll climb up on our box. I want you to get set up Pilates v. You can see your alignment. A lot of my clients like that. I like that. Then they're more in charge of their feet than me sometimes.

Hook your hands behind your knees sit tall. If this isn't feeling great, you have all the space to go back to, you can also come more forward. You can place your hands at the front of the box. The back of the box, you can hold your straps and pick yourself up. I'm gonna choose this one.

I want us to start moving the legs. I'm gonna adjust already and concentrate on your sitting posture. So if you're a teacher out there, how many times are you queuing your clients to sit up tall? Right? And we have them doing footwork lying on their back, maybe not challenging their sit up tall muscles, or if they're not lovers of the wonder chair, where are we getting them to sit up straight or sit up tall with pushing with their legs? It's just kinda fun. I get lots of great feedback from my clients about some of what you're gonna get today. Here we go. Last two.

Right. And holding the edge of the box also starts to get that upper back, upper shoulder quadrant ready. Let's go parallel toes. Heels just slightly lifted. Now if this is too much knee and hip flexion, you've got options. You can lower your foot bar.

You could scoot back on your box. You also could lie on your back. But I'm gonna ask you to try to stay lifted. You also don't have to come all the way into the stopper. That'd be about here.

Right? You don't have to do that much flexion. Five more. It can be a little tiring in your back. Don't be afraid of that part of you. Your head is just floating on that neck.

Last one, let's make a change, lower your ankles. I'm gonna ask you to put your hands behind you, push down, and lift up a little bit. I'm gonna push and lift. Now as you lower your ankles, let's not indulge the huge drop of the heels that might cause some slumping. Think about lowering your heels with lift in your spine with lift through your stomach up through the head.

I'm a big believer in where can we always be decompressing, right, strength and length. A couple more. And you can just kinda tell your folks or you're watching your own foot alignment saying, hey, not bad. Okay. Pivot to Pilates v and come back in. We're gonna do heels parallel. Place your hands at the front of the box.

Chest expansion arms. I feel like you're doing a little bit of lat and tricep here. Rear shoulders. Just coasting along. You could also really watch your own tracking of your hip knee ankle. Well perched on your sitting bones, shoulders right above your pelvis, not too far behind your pelvis.

Two more. And then we're gonna take our heels wide. To work some squat work. Alright. So you might need to move your pelvis closer to this front edge. I really want you to feel like you are challenging your hip flexion, your knee flexion. Grab your knees and sit up again. Place your hands. Yeah.

I also love to help people squat. Squading is healthy. Right? Push. Two bed springs for squats here is not too challenging tag on a little more if you're interested there.

But no heavy spring might scoot you off the box. So not always necessary. Let's exhale. Is your neck nice and long? Feel those shoulders come down off your neck last two and last one. And then pause here again. Hook your hands and just really acknowledge, yes, my sitting posture. I'm up there. Could you take your heart arms forward?

Could you open them without dropping your posture? Feel how much work that is? Okay. And then you can rest. Wonderful. We're gonna move their box, everybody. And we're moving it in front of the reformer If you most people have a strap on one side, put this one, it matters toward the carriage.

We don't wanna trip on the strap. Now, when you face your reformer, let's use that squat. You're gonna squat today. Put the box down. Put the box down. You're squatting.

It's centered. We'll get back to that. Don't worry about changing your springs, but I also don't really want you to rattle the reformer. Alright? So, I don't know, standing about where the box was, and place one foot up 90 degree, and you're gonna step and tap. I've done this before. Don't look down.

See if you to not look at the at the carriage. Okay? So I'm just gonna talk while we step and tap. This moment of lifting that leg, putting it down. Yes. This is stairs.

But we want strong hip flexors. We want to be able to get our leg up high, hiking, climbing, stairs. You get it? Yeah. Pick up the tempo. In class yesterday, I asked a husband and wife What are you feeling here?

Husband says, balance challenge. I said, what else? Coordination. I said, what else? Well, my proprioception, you're telling me not to look down. Yeah. Don't look down. So if they were nailing it, they're getting more confident not having to look down speeding it up.

Oh, see? Good. You gotta clear that carriage. Let's take four. Three, two. Hold this one. Try not to look down.

Stay right there. Close your eyes. Even for a second or two, open them up, kind of interesting. Now the leg you're standing on firm up your buttocks, push the foot down into the floor, and lift your heel. There's a little bit of weight shift that comes onto this leg, but we're not really going into lunge.

Think more vertical and lower. Okay? Just go ahead push up and lower. So standing single leg strength over here. There's not a lot of weight on the front foot, doing a lot of the power on my standing leg. Arms could be here. Arms could be here.

This is actually pretty nice for some counterbalance. I'm just gonna lower mine. And up and up. That nice light head. We'll do three more and we'll hold on the third one.

And two, here we are, up and hold. Challenges to close your eyes or turn and look somewhere else in the room. Ignore what you see, some brain to body, beautiful ocean. Do that once again. Challenge the strength and endurance on your standing leg.

What do you see? You don't have to say it out loud. You could. I asked my clients to tell me what they see. Okay. And change and lower. And then just step down, pull up the other leg.

Just here. Get your hips centered, lift, levity, and single leg calf and foot strength. Push up. And push. So this is one of the exercises I give a lot for preparing for going up front on the chair. Some of them just won't go.

That's okay. This is their version. It's the options of our system. Right? And push. And push. So this top leg really light. Bottom leg not light is pushing. For more, lift, and lift.

Check this and lift. Last one will stay lifted. Okay. So collect the strength in your abdominals, check your shoulder standing leg. Same thing. Turn your head. Look somewhere else.

What do you see? The brain really likes it. Beach front door. I'll go over here and see, box on the floor. And speaker, and center.

Wonderful. Okay. Step down to just feel what you feel. Wonderful. So we're going to this end. No need to change your spring. In the kinda element of climbing going up, hip extension one to chair, ish, stairs.

Place one foot on your box. We are going to be moving more lungy on this knee. Hinge at your hips, everybody. Place your hands on your foot spar. Now I want you to do that same feeling that you just did here on this leg. Lift.

Now you can. I think you know you can. Lift that foot off the ground and just kinda come into a little elevation, bend the standing knee and come back down. Slowly hinge. This one helps bring you up, but it's the standing leg on the box. Let's the let's really concentrate there.

It's gonna be your heel pressure. Heal pressure. Heal pressure. Why I'm saying heal that coordinates more with your posterior hip, aka glutes, push up. You can stay exactly like I am. You don't even have to take that foot off the ground.

But if progression is happening, you could then challenge yourself to come up to standing. My foot is still against the box back there for safety. For proprioception, and I'm training for my one to chair step up. You see that? Now I'm in I know the bar is there. I'm looking at it hinge that front hip descend.

Let's try again. Go slow, connect your heel to the box, and push the other foots against the box. Look where you're going. Use your eyes. Use your hip extensors, levity in your neck and head.

Feel that foot on the box. It's kind of tracing it. You can to keep going at that level or pace. I'm just gonna juge it up a little bit. Yep.

So see what I meant about the strap on the box. If the strap was here in the front of the box, your foot could get caught. So none of that. I let my arms just find their way to help me counter balance. Do whatever feels best for you.

Time to do the other side. Alright? How are we doing? Kinda fun? I hope place your foot. Based on what we just did standing, crease in your hip, now we're going into hinging, place your hands, shift your weight, pick up that bottom foot, and a little kind of arabesque hinge in a way. This heel on the box push it down that coordinates with your glutes. I am eyeballing where I'm going. See? Wall, Matt. This is a place I wouldn't want you to look around.

Stay focus. Where is your eye? Line? You can stay there or progress with me coming around. Here we go. Standing leg strength. The other foot stays against the box.

Try to upright your pelvis and spine. Deesen, you know the bars there. Hands trust yourself. Ready? Hinge. It's there.

Push. Push. Lift. Lower. I have three more for us.

Are you with me? You are. Ready. One. You could also add hand weights. I thought about doing that, but maybe round two. A continuation. Or I know some of you will, and you'll tell me about it.

So have fun. You can see all the elements where you could add extra arms. I know you can. Okay. Wonderful. Everybody just climbed down and stand. Just feel what you feel.

Take a moment for that compare, contrast. Fantastic. Now we're moving around this way. Some proprioception and some more climbing. We're in a narrow space now, narrow hallway.

Use your inside foot. You're gonna step up and completely step up with the other leg. Inside foot comes down, outside foot down. Same thing. Inside, outside, inside, outside. So, yes, trying not to look down at our ground.

You know the ground is there. You also know there are straps on the box on these outside handles. This leg, I want you to step far enough behind you that your foot won't catch. Okay? Little wiggles are fine. About four more and then we'll change legs. You can pick up your pace.

And it is a little like step aerobics. It's okay. Down. Well, we're getting this up and down. Level change.

Ready, we're gonna go other side, pause for a moment, outside foot leads. Ready, outside, inside, outside, inside. This was tricky for one of my clients yesterday. She didn't wanna keep changing feet. Interesting. Who knows why? Probably coordination, but she knew it, and she was recovering.

And it was fun because she had a learning moment of, oh, I'm not changing my feet. Interesting. Four, As teachers, we don't always have to tell them what to do, right, and what to think about. They find it on their own. I think last one, climb, climb how you doing, and then just stand.

Good. Okay. We're using the carriage again. Change your spring everybody blue. Only blue bar can see where it is. Now we need to move the box though from here to round to the side. So face your box.

There's your squat hinge, pick up that box and bring it very close to you stand. I know it's very deliberate, but it's part of it. Your studio owners will thank you for not scraping the boxes on the ground. They are an investment. Okay? Squat and set your box down. This end over here is with the leg of the reformer. You're gonna face stand up Inside foot or carriage foot parallel. Get yourself set now.

Make sure you're lifted, shoulders are easy. You're gonna do a, b, duction just a little push and return. Now a small movement, there have been a lot of big ones. Now there's a small move pretty directed into your lateral hip. Let's take the arms and out stretch.

Take up some space here. Five more. We know lateral hip is essential for standing balance. The last two gives a little shape. And last one. Okay? Everybody lower your arms.

Take this foot off, please, and just stand. Now you're up on your box. Pivot a quarter turn. You can look down. Okay.

Hands on the bar. Inside foot is gonna go right on this edge for some scooter. Now to get crouched down like that, not everyone's knees are gonna love this. You can also go back regular scooter back here. Okay? I'm gonna show it here.

It pushes Look at all that hip extension. Feel all that hip extension. Standing leg very strong. Last four. And then we'll just pick up the box and find our way to the other side.

Last one, everybody and now standing, pivot, step backward. You know your strap is back there. One now. Okay. Wide stance. Squat. Pick it up. Get it to you quickly. Tada.

Tada. Nada. Walk around. And, yes, I do this in in class. Clients kinda like it. They like this. It's functional. Step up, inside foot on the carriage in parallel.

First, arms can just be down by your side. Here we are again. A nice small movement, lateral hip. Try not to shrink into your lower back and stay long in your neck and head. We did outstretch the arms for a few. Four more.

Go ahead. Balance balance balance balance balance. I hear that all the time. Amy helped my balance. Okay. Arms down, feet down.

Quarter turn. Bandon hinge, hands on bar. Inside foot to the edge. Crouch. A lot of work here.

Ready for extension. Nextale. See if you can get a nice and high on the ball of that foot. Push strong. Four more. Three What we doing?

Last time, and rest. Take your foot down, standing up, quarter turn to face your reformer, step backward, backward to backward. Gary on. Let's go around. We're gonna do some push ups and pulling movements now using our foot bar. Place your hands, shoulder width apart. Stand back in what would feel like a front support.

This reformer does have the locking mechanism. Even if yours doesn't have that, you can do these. Mine at home don't have the lock, and I do it all the time. But you don't wanna push the carriage this way, right, or the footbar. You're actually kind of pulling it toward you.

So if I do that, and lower myself any amount toward my tricep push ups. We're gonna go with eight. Focus at the back of your reformer folks. Look back there. So your posture is still part of the game. Four.

Collector tummy. My shoulders stay relatively low. Last one. Now we're gonna segue into a single arm push from a different position. I think we can handle some weight on this one. So let's tag in a red instead of the blue.

I'm hoping I'll be happy with that choice. We need to make a box change. So now I'm gonna move it more toward that end of the carriage. You'll see yes, a squat, and just slide it. Now I have it more in line here. Of course, all of this is relative to how tall or short people are.

This has been working for my folks. Get into your quadruped. Get close to the carriage. Inside hand, shoulder block. Elbow not up, not too tucked in, you'll find your sweet spot, and you push.

It's like doing a one arm push up, kind of, and four. You can stay here or the other foot on the floor outside foot. Three. See where I'm going. You can do that this here or you can take the other leg up bird dog.

It's a lot of oblique work. And two, just two more. And four, and then pause and hold. Hold your bird dog. Let go.

Hold and hold. Fantastic. Okay. Walk back. You know what I'm gonna do.

We've gotta move the box. So, squat. Pick it up. Walk, walk, walk. All of these are little mini exercises in and of themselves. But first, we have more tricep push ups.

Get to it. Ready. And one. Two, look at the back end of that reformer. Three, we're loading our wrists. You know that very functional. Grasp the bar, please.

Three. And two, and one. Okay. Single arm quadruped. Get cozy to the carriage, stabilize your shoulder girdle, get nice and lifted in your tummy. Inside hand.

Ready. And you push. It's not important to push to a full straight arm. It is important to push with scapular control. Right? So it yeah. You don't have to go to full straight arm.

Outside foot goes to the floor. Three and four. Building it up outside leg lifts and one. A lot of oblique just kicked in. Did you feel that?

And three, four, let that inside hand go. Just hold your bird dog. Hold hold. And walk back. Okay, guys. How are we doing?

Now we get a pull. We could do some pulling moves. I think we're gonna lower the foot bar. So I'm gonna go down to low bar. Blue spring again, unless you didn't change it at all.

Squat. We're gonna put the box up on the reformer long box. Okay. Make sure you're really centered. We're going prone on the box. So it for this piece, I'd like to have my shoulders right at the front edge of the box. Place your hands on the frame thumb on top, but pull a little bit.

And this is kind of tricky. I will say on alone. Is getting the feet parallel hip width. So I start wide and then I just walk in and I sure hope I get pretty close. It's kinda hard to tell, but sometimes I get help from people. Okay.

Arms are long. This first part, let your head relax down, let that neck traction a little bit, straighten your knees, engage your legs, engage your buttocks, and try to hover your tummy just a little bit. And I want you just to do some heel and ankle movement, heel and ankle movement. It's nice and gentle. But again, you're pushing yourself up to rise.

Keep that going. Start to move your head. So you're more in line, head with spine. Alright. One more. And then hold.

Get your shoulder organized a little more stomach in, tailbone to heels. Take one foot off the bar. I'm gonna point my foot and just rest my foot on the foot bar. 10 leg lifts. Little. One. What's happening in my sternum is I'm really reaching it toward the ropes.

Five, six. That little hint of swan coming. You see that? And eight and nine, and 10, and changing feet ready. My ponytail is fun, and one other side. You don't have to lift high. I do want you to feel lengthened.

Four, five. Get that sternum ready. Three more. And two. And last one. Okay. Both feet off.

Now I'm sweating so I just gripped my thumb around the frame so I don't fall. You're fine. Ready. You're gonna flutter everybody. Flutter. Can your sternum start saying, I wanna touch that end of a carrot?

I'm reaching. I'm pulling my shoulders down my back, but I'm really leading with my chest. And then I'm gonna go back. I can come down. So it's a little hint of swan with these flutter kicks and lift, lift, lift, lift, lower. Lower. Can we get one more round and lift, lift, lift, lift. Then there's one more bit to this. You can pause your flutter kicks.

Thumb up on the railing if you can. I want you to pull yourself forward. Four more and pull. It's a lot of tricep work. Good. And pull.

And pull. I'm getting tricky with my hand position. And one more. And then we did it, you're gonna slide all the way back. Okay. Everybody. Just step off your carrot.

We're nearing the end. I do wanna give this a little stretch. Alright? Let's go light on the spring. I'm going down to my yellow only. And I'm gonna turn and face this gorgeous window in ocean, and I'm crossing my ankles using the strap.

The same, the arm that's closest to the strap, make a little grip there. Take the other hand, and you're gonna interlace your fingers toward each other there. Think hug a tree shape. And then take your arms above your head. And then just down in front of your sternum.

And go all the way back to the beginning of class when we did that seated footwork. How is your posture feeling? Is your body feeling? Alright. We're adding one beautiful stretch. Well, we'll do three reps, but one stretch, hold your arms up.

Sign bend side bend, open your ribs, stretch your body. Come back up. Keep those arms up unless you have to lower them. Lift in side bend. Trying to keep that head between my arms. Last one, and up.

Take your arms down. We have our other side. I can't wait to see you doing it, so I'm gonna just spin around. Yep. And I had my rope leg crossed on top of my other leg. I wasn't clear there, but this inside leg crossed on top.

Making a nice connection with your strap interlace your hands together, check those shoulders, lift, and all the way up, and all the way down just in front of your chest. Let's exhale. And inhale. Last three. You guys did great. Last two. The last one we stay up for three side bends, Stay in there. Let's breathe first and up and over.

Trying to keep that head between your arms and left. You can always do this with your arms down too and just ditch the strap. It's just nice to challenge one more. Element. Right? Last time, everybody up and side bend and lift lower now. Before you are, just get up and walk away. Just set your strap down.

And then organize your feet. Just place your feet up top. Just place your hands on your legs and get a little quiet for just a moment. Just a moment of stillness. It's kinda nice to have that to be your guide at the end.

So I just encourage all of us. We can do traditional Pilates. It's the best. We can do adaptations. That's the best. It's about moving.

It's about staying strong. Finding ways to do elements that might lead us to some other toughies and really just coming together and having fun, right, saying bot is strong in your body. Thank you so much. Write in. Let me know what you think. If you give it to your clients, ask them to tell you what they got out of it and share that with me, I would really be happy to hear that. Thanks, everybody.